A Texas man who slaughtered his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her son is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening — as he launches a last-minute bid to delay the execution.
Stephen Dale Barbee, 55, was convicted in 2006 of the February 2005 murders of his ex, Lisa Underwood, and her 7-year-old son.
He initially confessed to the shocking slayings but later recanted his admission, insisting he only helped co-defendant Ronald Royce Dodd hide the bodies after they were killed.
Barbee, who was set to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday, is pleading with the US Supreme Court to halt his execution over claims of religious freedom violations.
The convicted killer’s attorneys argued Barbee’s religious rights are being violated because the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) does not have a clear, written policy on what spiritual advisers may do in the execution chamber — despite a high court ruling earlier this year.
The March ruling says states that must accommodate death row inmates’ requests to have their religious counselors pray and touch them during their executions.
At the time, the TDCJ said it would not update its original policy but would review related petitions on a case-by-case basis.
Stephen Dale Barbee, 55, was convicted in 2006 of the February 2005 murders of his ex, Lisa Underwood, and her 7-year-old son. APEarlier this month, US District Judge Kenneth Hoyt issued a preliminary injunction stating that Texas could only execute Barbee after it updated “a clear policy” in line with the Supreme Court ruling.
“TDCJ is now operating under an unwritten policy where prison officials may unilaterally decide whether to allow an inmate’s requested accommodation … the accommodation may be withdrawn at the will or caprice of any prison official at the last moment,” Hoyt’s ruling read.
Federal appellate judges overturned Hoyt’s decision last Friday on the grounds that it was too broad. Hoyt subsequently issued a second ruling on Tuesday, this time specifying that the opinion only applied to Barbee.
“[TDCJ] may proceed with the execution of Stephen Barbee only after it publishes a clear policy that has been approved by its governing policy body that (1) protects Stephen Barbee’s religious rights in the execution chamber … and, (2) sets out any exceptions to that policy, further describing with precision what those exceptions are or may be,” the new injunction reads.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office is appealing Hoyt’s decision to the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas Tribune reported. The 5th Circuit has to issue a ruling before the case can appear before the Supreme Court.
Also on Tuesday, Hoyt rejected a simultaneous request by Barbee’s attorneys to stop his execution on the grounds that he would be in extreme physical pain if strapped down to the gurney typically used in Texas executions.
In the request, Barbee’s lawyers argued that his ongoing mobility issues, which require him to use a wheelchair, would render him unable to straighten his arms to receive the IV for lethal injection.
Hoyt dismissed the case on Tuesday afternoon, stating that the prison warden had already stipulated that Barbee would be accommodated in the execution chamber.
Pending a court decision, Barbee will be the fifth inmate executed in Texas in 2022. He is the last inmate schedule to die by lethal injection in the state this year.
With Post wires
